We received a shocking email from a reader called Del earlier this week. He wrote in to report on a crazy situation that occurred after his credit card switched from MBNA to Bank of America ownership:

After Bank of America bought out MBNA bank my credit card changed over and they increased my interest rate from 7% to 25%. I have never been late with my payments to anyone and have an excellent credit report. When I opened my latest statement, I was shocked to see the doubling of my interest rate! When I contacted BofA, I was told that a letter was sent to me asking if I wanted an increase in my rates and that by not responding with a no, they went ahead and increased them [to 25%!]. I never received such a letter. Not only is this unethical, is it legal?

In my youth this was loansharking. I bring this to your attention for two reasons. First, all I ask is that this practice is brought to your attention so you can help others I am sure are being squeezed like this by them, and second to see if you have suggestions for how I could get a fair rate back. On second thought,  I plan to pay off all of my BofA account and never do business with them. What do you think?

What a horrible situation! Technically, it is legal for Bank of America to increase your interest rates as long as they alert you to the change somehow. This business with the letter asking you if you want to raise your rates seems completely absurd to me, but likely covers the legal bases.

If calling and demanding that your interest rate is lowered doesn&39;t work, you should then start paying off the card as fast as possible. You may even want to transfer the balance to a different card with a lower rate. When the account is paid off, do not close it with the bank. Instead, leave the card open but don&39;t use it. Closing credit cards can cause significant damage to your credit scores, so it often hurts you more than the creditor.  Keep the dormant card in a safe drawer at home for emergencies and check in on it once in a while to make sure it is okay. Letting the card go dormant is better for your credit scores and still "punishes" the bank for their bad behavior.

Have you received a letter like this from Bank of America? Have your credit card rates increased dramatically? Share your story in the comments section.